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I am livid today. I just got a new 300mW burner and it was working great for a day, however I lost the lens spring. I searched all over and couldn't find it. I decided instead of wasting my time crawling around I'd just replace the spring with a similar one. I replaced the spring and when I removed the lens to see how it fit, the spring got caught in the diode. I gently removed the spring from the diode but after that the laser would not work.

I have no idea why a spring would mess up the diode and what confuses me more is that springs are normally used between a lens and a diode. If there was that great of risk ruining it why bother. No clue what to do about this and I think I'd need a microscope to clearly see the diode.

The diode looks undamaged the 2 pins are fine but even with a magnifying glass it's very hard to see details.

The good thing is, that the long open can diode can be replaced for about $15 dollars in parts. You should start with the person who built the laser...
Jay

I PMed him already awaiting a reply but I'm asking here first in case anyone can explain why that happened and if I can fix it. It seems odd. The replacement lens spring might have put extra pressure on the diode since the spring was a little tight but that's my best guess? *:-/

Well the normal aixiz spring is too wide to touch the diode, it only contacts the surface around the diode. If the diode was an open can I can absolutely see contact of any kind destroying it. A closed can would be more unusual but if it pressed the window something might happen.

If it was anywhere near 300mW's, I am assuming that it was an open can diode...

This means that the die is exposed and can easily be damaged. Like a light bulb with out the glass bulb protecting the filament.

It sounds like your replacement spring was not the proper size and/or not smoothed off at the end of the spring. If my guess is correct, the diode must be replaced...
Jay

Darn it! This is the laser I bought at link below. The laser itself had no problems and was great but I had no clue something like a lens spring could ruin it! DAMN, I spent an good amount of time looking for the original spring too before I decided to just use a different one. Just my dumb luck and if I wasn't such a perfectionist sometimes I'd left it without the spring and been fine. *

He states in his for sale thread that he will repair at the cost of parts and shipping so your not too bad off...

Still a bummer though. I remember that feeling.

I'm sure he will appreciate your honesty in that you admit it was you who damaged the diode.
Jay

Well I guess I feel slightly better that others know my pain. This cost me enough *that it's a bit painful too (150$). Hopefully the replacements parts won't be too expensive. The lesson I've learned is to read and learn about lasers in great detail before I change ANYTHING even a simple lens spring. Likeitbright has been reasonable so far so I'm not worried. I just hoped first I might be able to fix it myself and save the time and trouble.

What exactly happened to the diode is what I'm wondering. I need to find a zoomed in picture of diode. From what I can see a diode is a part with 2 little pins: there must be things I can't with the naked eye in the diode.

Well the normal aixiz spring is too wide to touch the diode, it only contacts the surface around the diode. *If the diode was an open can I can absolutely see contact of any kind destroying it. *A closed can would be more unusual but if it pressed the window something might happen.

The replacement spring I used was smaller and did hit the diode... :-/ I still blame myself because ignorance is no excuse.

I need to study how to build and how each of the parts works. That would have prevented stupid mistakes.

Here are some close up pictures of the open can diode. You can damage it with your finger. A spring getting stuck on the diode has destroyed it for sure...
Jay

Thanks, the picture is very helpful. I wish I could take a picture like that of my diode to show it here perfectly, but I don't have a camera with that kinda of quality.

My diode doesn't look that scuffed up. I'm guessing those extremely tiny wires in between the two pins and that middle part in the diode were damaged. What are those wires called?

I take it you can't just add new wiring yourself? Obliviously, you'd need a lab to do it with that size. I looked with a magnifying glass very closely by the way and don't see any micro-wiring like that in your picture so that must have been damaged...

I'd have to ask likeitbright but any idea what a new 300mw diode would cost?

That's a huge relief! So it's not a total lost, all night I felt like I lost 150$. If I get a diode replacement is possible to do it myself or will need someone else to do it? Is replacing a diode very complicated?

Thanks so much for your answers, I'm feeling better now. I thought the laser was a loss.

Unless you already know how, I would recommend sending it back to the builder...

It is the kind of thing that is actually very easy once you learn. But there is a learning curve that every new builder has to go through. In this process, you will damage some diodes. As you already know.

There are a lot of tutorials at the top of this section for you to browse through...
Jay

So you would recommend the builder do the repairs? Does it have to be the builder or someone else skilled at working with lasers? I ask because he is in New Zealand so that would take quite a bit of time.

I do plan on making my own lasers soon enough but I'll be starting on something very cheap to begin with. Anything expensive I'd rather not touch. I was hoping it would be a simple process to change a diode. I am planning on reading the guides here NOW just to learn so I don't do something stupid again at the least.